Canal du Centre · 2025
A shorter season,
plenty to remember.
From Montceau-les-Mines we travelled through Montchanin, Saint-Julien-sur-Dheune, Saint-Léger-sur-Dheune, Blanzy and Génelard before returning to Montceau.
In April 2025, a serious breach in the Canal du Centre embankment at Chagny flooded nearby homes and forced VNF to drain the affected stretch. Through-navigation was cut over 22 km for the rest of the season.
With the through-route closed, our cruising was limited to 36¾ hours and 70 locks. There were still lovely days out, evenings aboard and a memorable concert in the basin at Génelard.
Our base
Back at the port.
Montceau-les-Mines was our base for the season, and with the through-route closed we explored by car instead. We visited Lyon, Avignon, Marseille and Nice, and travelled into Italy. It was a short cruising season for Maria, but we still had a lovely time, with plenty of new places to enjoy.
In the Italian mountains we found a brilliant Airbnb with a personal chef and an indoor pool. Breakfast was a feast, with the green hillsides all around us.
Back aboard Maria, there was time to put our feet up. Oscar had his own idea of the best place to recover after a busy day.
July aboard
Days out. Fireworks from the deck.
A lovely day out with Maria, and another evening watching fireworks from aboard. Great fun, with no need to leave home.
Génelard · July
A concert in the basin.
Génelard gave us a lovely basin mooring and an evening concert on the water. A piano floating in the basin, an audience on the bank — and from Maria it felt as though the concert was just for us.
Flowers on deck. Evening on the water.
Maria in full bloom, and the basin at Génelard after dark.
